Residential district brought to board

By NICHOLAS WALECKA

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southcoasttoday.com

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Posted Oct. 4, 2012 at 10:50 AM

Posted Oct. 4, 2012 at 10:50 AM

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By NICHOLAS WALECKA

Correspondent

ACUSHNET — Town Planner Henry S. Young went before the Planning Board Thursday to propose the Acushnet Residential Village District Initiative, which if approved would allow prospective landowners to purchase smaller parcels of land as opposed to the current minimum of 60,000 square feet (approximately 1.3 acres).

The Residential Village District would include areas closest to the intersection of South Main Street and Main Street that have the highest population density. One of the main goals of the project would be to attract more property owners to the town.

Under the proposed plan, lots as small as 10,000 square feet would be made available. The properties included in the plan would also be required to have existing access to the town's sewer and water systems and at least 100 feet of frontage. Areas falling within the current Business Village would be excluded from the residential plan.

"Buying 1.3 acres of land is pretty expensive," said Mr. Young. "If we can open a modest amount of 10,000 square feet lots, that's going to decrease the cost of building a home in Acushnet." Mr. Young said that the plan would add somewhere from 30-50 lots to the district.

Mr. Young said that one of the town's goals as a whole is to preserve the countryside, and that the 60,000 square foot minimum drives buyers out of the higher density areas into the lower density areas that they are trying to avoid using.

"We want to keep the boundaries in such a way that we're confining the small lot development to the traditional Village District," said Mr. Young.

The Planning Board voted unanimously to present the plan at Town Meeting in Spring 2013 instead of Fall 2012, mainly because it will give the Assessors Office time to evaluate the plan and will allow property owners to prepare for the changes. "We need to give the public a little more warning," said Mr. Young. The map containing the proposed Residential District will be posted outside of the Planning Board's office in the Parting Ways Building for public viewing until spring.

Mr. Young said that the initiative, if approved, would also allow current property owners to sell smaller lots that were previously unsellable because of the current restrictions.